Internet Marketing Killed the Internet
Read More: Dear Mr. Internet Marketer,
I remember once upon time, the internet was a fun-filled place. It was a place I can come and relax. A place I can come, meet up with friends, chit chat about our days and lives. A place where I can frolic among the different engaging websites that are fun, entertaining, and/or educational.
Those were the good ol’ days.
Then you came along and f**ked it all up.
You took it from a fun-filled playground where there was plenty of open grassy fields, kids-friendly toys, lots of sunshine, trees, and flowers and turned it into a melting pot of junk. You pissed all over the grassy fields and sprinkled tons of shattered glass around all the toys. You stampeded the flowers and in their place, put in man-eating plants. You took the trees and put barbed wires all around them.
What in the world are you doing? Please stop.
Death of MySpace
MySpace was once a great spot for my friends and I to reconnect and say hi to each other. Heck, it was even a great place to meet new people (it even gave birth to the promiscuous statement, “From MySpace to my place…”)
But then you came along and pretended to be my friend.
You came along and sucked me in just so you can spit on me and my profile. You lied to me when you messaged me calling me “your friend” only so you can sell me your junk.
Please stop.
Cancer of FaceBook
Then FaceBook sought to rectify the situation. It was closed off to you for the longest time. It was only for friends of friends of friends. It was a closed community where true friends can connect. It was suppose to be “better than MySpace” – the Bel Air version of MySpace. It was great and fantastic!
I mean, yes it was just a more complicated and pretentious version of MySpace but at least it was cool and more structured. I was able to reconnect with plenty more of my friends and family in a much more organized manner!
Then you showed up again.
Some way somehow, you penetrated the community. You created applications laced with poison designed to do nothing but sh*t on my FaceBook page and waste my time as I continually deny your invitation and reject your stupid flowers and pillow fights.
Seriously, I don’t care whether you think I am Thao, I don’t care if you could be a celebrity you’d be a chipmunk, I D-O-N’-T care. Why did you think I would in the first place? Now my FaceBook is just a clusterf**k of your junk and sh*t.
Twitter Don’t Go “Tweet Tweet” Anymore
Twitter introduced microblogging. It finally enabled me to tell the world what I am doing while I sit on my john dropping the kids off at the pool. I was able to say things like, “I am tweeting now.” and feel important because I can pretend that the 23 people who are following my tweet actually care.
I was able to learn of earth-shattering news happening around the world as news flooded the Twitter-land with things like the terrorist attack in India (which brought this info to more people in shorter amount of time than traditional means). I was able to secretly stalk my friends and see their messages like, “I am leaving my house for my 2 week vacation – so yes, my house will be empty, please don’t rob me.”
Then you reared your ugly face.
Sure you may seem to be popular, with your 100,000.8 followers… never mind that you are following 238,898 followers and of those 100,000.8 followers, 8,723 of them are your own fake profiles and the remainders are your internet-cancerous marketing friends.
You flood the Twitter land with stupid messages like, “Hi my name is Bob, please like me and buy my stuff at: http://www.whyiamadouchebag.com ” You make Twitter now nothing but a shoutbox – where you pricks do nothing but stand on your little hill and shout on top of your lungs, thinking we care and we actually listen to you.
Go f**k yourself.
Anti-Social Sites
Social sites and social bookmarks are no longer social. Now they are just a cluster-f**k of Mr. Other-Internet Marketers like you. They are filled with empty profiles with nothing but links to worthless websites that ask for your name, email address, and money. These bookmarks are now loaded with links to self-promoting, value-lacking, piss-poor websites that have no business being bookmarked.
Social sites are meant to be social, but gawd damn it I am relapsing back into my reclusive self because these social sites are anything BUT social.
Can I ask you one question Mr. Internet Marketer? “WTF?”
Please Stop
Listen Mr. Internet Marketer. I get what you are doing. I understand that it is your “job” to sell stuff online. But what you are missing is the “add value” aspect of business, of what you are doing.
You are so busy and focused on just SELL SELL SELL, you are starting to piss off more than just me, you are pissing off the big brothers like Google and FTC.
Why do you think the whole idea of Google Slap and Google Ban came around? It’s because you used and abused a system that was designed to improve lives. You took that, warped it for your evil intentions so you can con people into buying your low-quality junk.
And now Google and the FTC are pissed and punishing everyone for it – thanks to you Mr. Internet Marketing A**hole.
Maybe if you get your head out of your arse for a bit you’ll see that by going back to the fundamentals of internet marketing, which is to give without want, and to add overwhelming value to people, you will not only help US but also yourself.
By stopping being such a prick online, stopping thinking of ways to “trick” the people to buy, “trick” AdWords to approve your ads, “trick” FTC to approving your ads, and “trick” your merchant account provider to approve your account… maybe, just maybe, you can bring balance back to the internet.
Mr. Internet Marketer, if there is any sense of dignity, ethics, moral, and self respect, please stop pissing on the internet. Please restore the internet into the beautiful place it once was. Do it for the children.
Signed,
P.S. And if you are NOT Mr. Internet Marketer, please sign the petition below by leaving a comment so we can get this message heard by Mr. Internet Marketer.
Views: 2,113
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Comments: 44 
About the Author: Raymond Fong
Member Since: 11/15/2007
I'm a Distributor For:: Numis Network
Other Company: Affinity Integration, LLC
Industry: Consulting
Primary Web Site: http://www.RaymondFong.net/
Raymond
You have an extremely valuable post but I am betting you could have got the point across, very powerfully in fact, without any of the four letter words.
Am I right? I know I am - you are an excellent writer !
Joyce Penner
four letter exclamation points.
i respect joyce's opinion, but at the same time it's that opinion that p*sses me off! =)
He could have got the point accross, but then it wouldn't be him, he wouldn't relate to someone like me.
four letter words are no longer what they used to be, they are common wordage. I'm sure Joyce and others can relate to that with others words that used to be taboo...
THAT SAID...
Raymond, excellent article man. It was witty, and very to the point (in a roundabout way lol). I really enjoyed this, and the colorful, expressive original way you created this made it entertaining. A great first read for my day. Thanks mate.
Shane Hunter
woohoo!
first to vote! =) tweet, and facebook!
Nicely put
Being new to all of this myself, it's amazing at how much filth one must sift through to find good content and value out there and not to be offered they same old free gift that everyone else is offering. Luckily I take to heart that anything that annoys me I know will annoy others and avoid it as the plague.
Great article Raymond and thanks for what you do.
John
Hey Shane
I'm going to totally disagree with you. (I think you can take it) I have way more respect and get a bigger laugh when someone can slam the point home without what you refer to as common wordage.
Raymond is a powerful writer, doesn't need to use "wordage" to get his message across.
One old lady I used to know would insult someone with her particular wordage "I hope all the fleas in Iraq infest your armpits". You knew you were royally insulted but it was humorous at the same time. Now that's driving home a point with class.
Appreciate you but we're going to have to agree to disagree over this one !
Joyce
Joyce
Yup. Definetely going to have to agree. Because that statement just isn't funny for me, and would personally turn me off ;)
Point in case: Certain language attracts certain demographs. =) If you try to please everyone, you'll gain nobody's attention. =)
Joyce, you're great. So take none of my wordage personally. But I agree that we'll just have to disagree! =)
Wow
You hit it right on the nose
different style
Yeah, I could've done without the "four letter" words, the same way I could've chosen to wear a t-shirt to the gym instead of a tanktop. But I didn't :)
I meant to sound angry here. I meant to sound aggressive, and "Please go eat some fleas." just don't sound the same as "Go f* yourself."
And yes, I was ready for the blowback and repercussions of me using such angry language (i.e. making people go "yuck, Ray's so angry and foul")
But then others will get more attracted since we can connect better, and maybe they can see that I wrote the letter tongue in cheek.
There's a time and a place for wit and this just wasn't it for me. So yeah, agree to disagree and to each his (her) own :)
Raymond
P.S. Thanks for the comments!
Definitely a very articulate
Definitely a very articulate and well presented argument. Couldnt agree more
My sentiments exactly
Raymond,
Thank you! My gripe is FaceBook. Why do I have to become a fan of every internet marketer that I'm friends with. These pages are driving me nuts...Then, the only stuff on the fan pages is people pitching their links to this OR that. Has to be another way to do this.
On a positive note, I have joined a few tribes on FaceBook and connected with some great folks. We read each others content and help get it out there.
Susanna:)
Sweet
Definitely a sweet article there Raymond! Totally agree with what you're saying. Most of the "internet marketers" today are forgetting to add value and market themselves as contributing to the society, and instead are trying to get as much as they can get without giving back.
Raymond, I'm Angry Too!
Raymond, Thank you for putting your angry feelings into words that need to be seen and acted upon. Whether or not we agree with the way the words were put down on paper, I'm sure we all agree with the intent of those words.
Mr. Internet Marketer needs to clean up his act, just like the face-to-face marketer or the phone marketer. Marketing has truly taken a terrible hit when good and caring people who have terrific products are hit hard by the charlatans out there who would lie and steal to make money, and laugh all the way to the bank.
Let's get real here. Let's all comment and support Raymond's terrific content rather than comment on the superfluous.
Ray's Article, Joyce's Feelings and The Compromise
Let me begin by saying - Raymond, excellent article! I feel the EXACT SAME WAY. Honestly.
I recently wrote a very similar rant in my blog a week ago. This needs to be said on CNN...!!!! lol. (with me and you as anchors)
Even though I had no problem with your "four letter words" - I'm 25 so I could care less; Joyce doesn't have the same values as the "socially cool" people. (hope that was clear). By the look of Joyces picture - she looks like the nicest lady in the world. (2nd to my grandma ;-)
It's no problem for people not to "feel" the "social cool" aspect of cursing. lol. To me it's just a word like "the", but to others it may be just as bad as the place called hell. Know-what-I-mean?
On the other hand - there are a ton of people that will resonate with Ray's language in this article.
People like ME, Mike Morgan, didn't care about the "four letter" words....I was WAAAY more intrigued by his "Address To Mr. Internet Marketer".
Selling stuff is the only way to make money online Yes.
But if you don't make the POTENTIAL customer feel comfortable...
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BUY ANYTHING!!
- So then Mr. Internet Marketer tries to win with NUMBERS. Because they don't lie.
But they put all sorts of stupid stuff on Adwords and post the dumbest links on Twitter.
In reference to Facebook - I have Fan page that everyone here should join...and a peronal page that I wouldn't dare let weirdo Internet Marketers AND (sometimes) super weirdo Network Marketers become my friend.
The reason why - I've been on Facebook since 2004 and there were NO people selling stuff and creating applications and none of that weird stuff.
(Sidenote: If people in this industry are so tech-smart, why do they send those dumb pillows to everyone instead of clicking SKIP.....you don't really have to send them to EVERYONE!)
RAY'S RIGHT! The Internet is screwed up now. Great article once again.
Mike
P.S. What are we gonna do? Because we can't expect the polluter's to clean it up...
F***kn Terrible Time Online Sometimes
Hi Raymond, welcome back bro...not that you went anywhere really!
Instead of comment directly to your rant above I want to share a short story.
I'm invested in the currency of the country of Iraq and online thousands will say scam scam about having Iraqi money and hoping it will revalue and be worth more than it is today very soon.
Here's the deal! So many folks are told to invest in this opportunity with Iraqs currency...and then they'll research it online for 5 minutes and determine its a scam. This is because scam reports are at the top of Google. They give up and quit learning offline too!
Same with social media. Someone tries it and gets frustrated, they do a tiny little work and don't see results and they fall into the trap of spamming people to try even harder...bad move people!
I cannot belive how many people have bought into the Iraqi Dinar in hopes that it will be a Gold nugget and make them rich soon. Hello? Nothing worth having comes free! ...and often you have to wait and work at it.
The point of this story is I've observed good people who totally lose their COOL because they expect stuff to happen faster than it does.
On the other end of you reading this my name is Zack, I'm a 30 year or entrepreneur social scientist dude. I like the idea of using the Internet to make an income, but it's hard...I'm telling you. You don't believe me? I have done so much SEO and other stuff with so little results that I get so frustrated sometimes because I can see people with half the skills I have making 100x the money I do online. Why? Focus and Persistence, often they've been doing it longer than me.
So - - - Thanks Raymond for the Mr. Marketer Rant and your thoughts. I feel the same way and I've found this aspect of society to be something that is NOT GOING TO STOP EVER! They'll always be newbies to ruin it because they don't know better. It's not that they intend on spamming, they just are new or antsy in their marketing approaches.
"Thoughts Held in Mind Create Their Own Kind"
Zack Covell
http://zackcovell.com
Damn Raymond
Hope you took your blood pressure medicine after you wrote this. I am still cracking up at the whyamiadouchebag.com. Points are spot on! I think I might throw up if I get another Spamming friend request from one of these places. I want to snatch these people up and give them shaking baby marketer syndrome.
Good stuff,
Eric McMillan
Ironic
Great Article, but of course, you can tweet it or share it on your facebook profile with one click, a bit ironic.
Thanks Ray...You said what we were thinking...
Ray,
Good stuff. I didnt notice any foul language in there. I dont know what Joyce and others are talking about. I did see some interesting @%#&'ing characters in there, but nothing offensive...
(Don't you guys know, Ray is Asian?)
But, as far as the Mr. Internet Marketing A-hole, I think that part of your article should be read by the guy in those old beer commercials...
I like to think that the world-wide-free-marketplace-of-ideas will naturally weed out the bottom feeders that spam these horribly written headlines at us every day... But, I agree with Zach here too, as i think that we will always have to deal with this...Our only defense is to "delete" them from our screens and minds.
Death of the Internet
Raymond,
I see you are an instructor. what do you teach? Foul Language 101? You should have thought about all those children for whom you want to clean up the internet BEFORE you wrote this article. I can now place you in the same category as all those people you say are ruining the internet.
Tom Wagner
Thanks Raymond
I thought you're rant was well delivered, and you pretty much said what we're all thinking. Good on you.
what bad language
Did not notice any that to me is offensive
Yes, but what do we DO about it?
Raymond,
Well put, but other than just self policing, which I guess is your message - "Please Stop" (good luck with that working out by the way), BN, iContact etc should form a committee much like the Messaging Anti Abuse Working Group does for email providers, and work with the Social Media purveyors to figure out the best way to achieve your objective. As you mention there are steps now being taken by the big guys, but those of us that care should be part of it.
Larry
Um yeah....
Hey Ray,
OK, some of this was pretty funny, especially the whyamiadouchebag.com, but seriously dude...just ranting ain't gonna cut it. I know you to be a sharp guy. Be part of the SOLUTION.
Here's what I did recently. I all but stopped using Twitter, unless I had something really interesting to post...maybe once a week. I UNfriended about 4,000 people on Facebook, and only accept friend request from people I'm interested in getting to know. The ones I don't accept, I direct to my Fan Page, which is NOT a blatant pitch fest, it's just Shecky "light."
My Social Media experience is now WONDERFUL. I'm connecting with some great peeps, sharing ideas, and making some nice friends.
Be the change you want to see in the world. ~Ghandi
Rock on, bro!
Shecky
Utter Crap
Marketing saturation is a necessity for economic survival in this day and age, going into the future. Accept it with a grain of salt.
Even the article writer is marketing something at the end of his post, after his bashing of Facebook, Twitter and the likes. I've known friends who have 20 twitter followers and their user experience is just fine. I have 24 facebook friends. Am I complaining? You have total control. Use it.
Soon, his style of bashing everyone with an intent to sell, will be the newest marketing method. And no sooner, someone will bash that as well.
The only four letter word that works is "SELL".
Either you know how or you don't.
PS - It's Gandhi, not "Ghandi".
Save the trees
The mailbox is no longer full of junk mail so they have to get it out there somehow. It's just as easy to delete as it is to physically throw it in the trash and at least they're not wasting trees I guess!
As for Facebook: What do you expect from a world that is obsessed with mindless socializing, celebrity and reality tv? I only recently gave in and got on facebook after requests to join from dozens of 'old' friends began to flood my email. In reconnecting with those friends from high school you are able to tell very quickly by what they're commenting about whether those people are kindred spirits or just time wasters like the general masses.
It didn't take long to figure out I could block all those ridiculous apps from showing up and block comments from those who were of no value. I don't market my business on facebook but I do drip on people with links of interest to me, such as Dr. Mercola, Robert Kyosaki and non-GMO links. By monitoring who comments on those links I am able to determine if they have potential and I assume those who aren't interested ignore it or block my comments, weeding themselves out.
The Last Social Media Secret
Hi Joetta,
I would LOVE to learn how to block all those annoying apps on facebook. Seriously, please provide tutorial. :-)
@Everyone
And for everyone else, the solution is quite clear - 99% of your activity in social media should be providing value to people, creating relationships and just having fun. (And block the spammers)
It's implied in the content of Ray's article. Do you really need it spelled out?
Do you go hand out business cards to everyone when you go to party? Of course NOT.
You go there to have fun, drink lots of beer (tequila) and if someone takes an interest in what you do, you give them a drunken elevator pitch, exchange cards and meet up later to discuss business... then continue to party, dance, etc.
That's why automated tools to market in social media is such BS. "Social Media Marketing" is a fallacy. You are here to form connections, but guess what?
No one cares about connecting with you until you prove yourself to be someone who can add value to their lives/business/etc.
How do you do that? Become someone worth listening to and share. That's it!
All our business partners including Mike Dillard, Tim Erway, Jim Yaghi, David Schwind, Jimmy Davis and many others we met and connected with as a result of this community.
There was no trick to it.
You need to pay the price in the form of educational courses, workshops and consulting to become the person you need to be. Once that happens you're in a position to relate and work with the best in this industry. That should be your goal.
Generating leads and traffic from social media, is a side-effect of this primary goal. If you want traffic, go pay for PPC, Banner Ads or do SEO.
If you want to connect with powerful people, then learn all you can, implement and share something worth listening to on BetterNetworker.com.
-Ferny
WOW!
This is a great article. Blunt and right to the point!
Blocking Apps
Ferny,
Don't know if there's a way to block all apps permanently, but just pull your cursor to the right hand side of the post (farmville, luck of the day, mafia wars or whatever) and Hide will pop up. Click it and you will have the option of hiding the app or hiding the offending person completely! You just have to do it one time, but you have to do it for each app as they show up in your news feed. Hope you weren't expecting a video tutorial or free ebook for opting in!
Raymond - You just Rock
Hi Ray,
Thank you soooo much for the 'truth', what interested me was the pictures you paint, the words were like your brushes - as far as social networking is concerned - I love catching up with people I know and watching what they are up to (the apps - thanks Joetta - I've blocked all mine and for the moment I share with people I know or want to aspire to be) and yes Ferny (magnificent mentor) I'm 100% with you on value (learning technical stuff is an absolute blast) and so looking forward to many years of enjoyment here - have an excellent day all
Way to go Raymond
Glad to hear you say it Raymond. If one more person ask me to join their group so they can spam the crap out of me, I'm going to scream. The don't know the meaning of discussion group over there, it's just invite new members and then spam them to death.
It's about time
Raymond,
I could have done without all the harsh language, but you got your point across. It's sad that all people do is pitch things over and over and it's no wonder no one is making any money with their internet marketing crap. Let's get back to the true essence of selling viable high quality products. If we all focused on keeping our customers instead of searching for new ones all the time it would be a lot more fun. I'm even getting pitched too much on this site and all everyone is selling is yet another marketing system. I almost believe half the people on this site don't even have an internet business other than the marketing stuff they are selling. At least I can say I have a physical product that works and everyone needs. Thanks, Steve